Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:6

Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

-1 Corinthians 13:6

 

Daily Reflection:

Jesus’ message applies to all the areas of life. He reveals to us the truth of our lives and all aspects of this truth. Jesus tells us that the purpose of our freedom is to say yes to God’s plan for our lives. What makes our yes so important is that we say it freely; we are able to say no. Jesus teaches us that we are accountable to God, that we must follow our consciences, but that our consciences must be formed according to God’s plan for our lives. In all our relationships to other people and to the world, Jesus teaches us what we must do, how we must live in order not to be deceived, in order to walk in truth.

-Blessed John Paul II

Prayer:

O Lord, bestow on your faithful the Spirit of truth and peace, that they may know you with all their soul, and generously carrying out what pleases you, may always enjoy your benefits.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

-Blessed John Paul II

Daily Challenge:

Apologize to someone whom you have wronged in any way and truly forgive those who have wronged you.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:5

Love is not rude or self-seeking

-1 Corinthians 13:5

Daily Reflection:

The words of Christ, “Love one another as I have loved you,” must be not only a light for us but a flame that consumes the self in us. Love, in order to survive, must be nourished by sacrifices, especially the sacrifice of self. We must be willing to give whatever it takes to do good to others. This requires that we be willing to give until it hurts.

–Mother Teresa

Prayer:

Father, provide me with the grace this day to love others through my own sacrifice. Help me to place the needs of others above my own and to give everything that I have to them. The world admires spectacular sacrifices, but help me to see the beauty of the hidden sacrifices I can make for others today. I humbly ask all of this by Your grace. O Lord for I can do nothing without You. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Today in your conversations with others try to spend less time talking about yourself and more time focused on them and their lives.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:4

Love is never jealous, boastful, or conceited

1 Corinthians 13:4

 

Daily Reflection:

A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. Joy is not simply a matter of temperament, it is always hard to remain joyful – all the more reason why we should try to acquire it and make it grow in our hearts. Joy is prayer. Joy is strength. Joy is love. He gives the most who gives with joy.

To all those who quietly suffer or are lonely, give them always a happy smile; give them not only your care but also your heart. We may not be able to give much, but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart that is filled with joy.

–Blessed Mother Teresa

Prayer:

Lord, please bless me with an ever present joy that comes from knowing You. May this joy spill over to all those I cross paths with today. Help me to remain joyful and positive, even if things don’t go the way I would like. Help me to see you in every person I meet, and love them as You do. Please fill my heart with Your love, O Lord for Yours is a love that is true and everlasting. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Reach out to someone who you have never met before today. Take some time getting to know them.

Real Love Week: 1 Cor 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind.

-1 Corinthians 13:4

Daily Reflection:

The appropriate word you left unsaid; the joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who bother you; that silence when you’re unjustly accused; your kind conversation with people you find boring and tactless; the daily effort to overlook one irritating detail or another in those who live with you…this, with perseverance is loving as Christ loves. Don’t say, “That person bothers me.” Think: “That person is making me holy.”

–St. Josemaria Escriva

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You are continuously patient and loving toward all your children even when we turn away from You.  May I know your love today more deeply.  Please make me a living example of your kindness and patience so that I may love others as You continually love me. Amen.

Daily Challenge:

Spend 5-10 minutes today talking with someone that will help you practice patience. Offer this conversation up for your own holiness and their happiness.

Real Love Week

Each hall director at the college we work for is required to organize two of our many yearly events. Nicole and I chose a very easy one for our first event. We put welcome bags together for our Resident Assistants. I think it took us a total of 2 whole hours. Maybe. I think it was more like an hour.

For our other annual event, we chose Real Love week, which is the week of Valentine's day. I don't really know why we chose what we did and why we did it together. There were some events I had absolutely no interest in and the other ones I wanted were already taken. So Real Love it is.

During my first year here, I was in charge of Real Love week. It consisted of me calling a pro-life group in Minnesota and ordering an insert for our school's newspaper. While it was informative in regards to abortion and chastity, I'm not sure how effective and memorable it was. They had ordered the same insert in the past, so I guess it only made sense that we continued it.

Last year, with all the changes that were happening in our department, we didn't do anything for Real Love week. This year, while talking about it, we decided against the insert and create something else instead.

While driving to visit my family last semester, I had the idea of using the passage from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as the theme of the week. I threw this idea out to Nicole and she agreed. I thought it would be great to create a booklet and have a short passage from a saint or someone worthwhile to reflect on and a prayer following the passage.

We broke the passage up into 6 sections, with each day dedicated to one section. I think we had more time, more help, and more stamina, we would be doing so much more for this week. Alas, we don't, so we ended up with making a booklet for each student and printing Daily Challenges that will be posted in the residence halls throughout the week.

This is one of my proudest projects since working here. I loved working on it. I especially loved it because it goes to the heart of what real love is. I am anti-sap. The only reason why I like Valentine's day is because chocolate is half off on Feb. 15, and it's also a sign that my birthday is less than 10 days away. This was a great project for me to work on, and I pray that each and every single person who reads the booklet will get the one message we are trying to send: God loves you.

Real Love week starts tomorrow, so I thought it would be great to post the passages, prayers, and challenges we put together on this blog.

Monday+Marines+Mug

Welcome to the first Monday of a very very busy month. I was not looking forward to this Monday, not that I ever look forward to such an evil day. I actually woke up (before the alarm clock!) and thought it was Sunday. Imagine my disappointment when I realized that it was in fact Monday. Very disappointed.

But let me take you through my day, even if it is only 4 pm.

I arrived at our weekly meeting a few minutes late. A huge problem for me and something I actually have been trying to work on. It's the first meeting in awhile that I've been late to. Still not a good thing.

Meeting went as well as any of those meetings could possibly go. Friends and I went to lunch, which was pretty uneventful. Love them, but going to lunch is not a huge deal for us. Then part of my after-lunch-ritual is going to the mail room to check my mail. On my way back to the office, I noticed a couple of gentlemen in uniform. Marines, no less. (I love the Marines-if I have to join a military branch, it would be the Marines. Hands down!) Not something we see every day here. It's a small campus so I notice things like that. They seemed lost and instead of giving them directions, it was easier for me to just show them where to go. It seems natural for me to do something like that. Must be that Filipino hospitality that is so ingrained in my soul. Wish I was exaggerating.

They asked if that was on my way to wherever it was I was going. It wasn't. I just didn't mind doing it. So I chatted with them and we walked a little bit more since the person they intended to see wasn't in their office. I showed them a little bit of campus, talked about how beautiful the weather was (seriously! It's 68 degrees outside right now!) and how horrible the food was in the cafeteria, and how it can't be any worse than prison. We went our separate ways after a few minutes.

I went to my office then went to a meeting that I only really needed to be in for about an eighth of it. I just needed to present my program and move on. While at the meeting, my phone rang. When my work phone rings, I answer. Always. Unless it's the weekend, which this day isn't, no matter how much I wished for it to be otherwise. It wasn't so bad. It was a student worker who just wanted to inform me that I got a special present in the office. I couldn't concentrate on the meeting after that. I tried to come up with a million excuses to leave the meeting and go see what this present was. I'm such a little kid. When I wasn't thinking about how to get out of the meeting, I was thinking about who it could be from and what it could be. My birthday is still a few weeks away, so it couldn't be flowers. Any other packages would be sent to the mail room. It did cross my mind that those Marines left a note for me, but that's it. Then I wondered again if someone did think to send me flowers a month before my birthday. Unlikely, but my hopeful little heart couldn't help but wish such an impossible thing.

I almost bolted out of the meeting when it ended, but ended up running into the dear (ummm, wrong word. strong? intimidating?) Marines. They mentioned that they left a mug for me in the office. I was touched! Truly! The surprise was ruined, but I couldn't keep from smiling. I was so excited! It really was nothing for me to take these gentlemen around campus. I would like to think that anyone who had the time would do the same thing. I would want someone to do the same thing for me.

And so, even though I still have so much left to do and am still stressed with the amount of work, I have a mug to remind me that no matter how crazy and stressful life is, I need to take the time to reach beyond myself and love on those around me.

Semper Fidelis.

Dorm Design

I love home design. I'm a student of the craft. Not really. It's more a hobby.

One of the fun things about this job is getting to know the girls and seeing how they show their personalities through various ways. One of my favorite ways of getting to know them is talking to them while they're in their element, namely their room. That sounds creepy, but it's really not. It's where they feel the most comfortable. Even though they are only in that room for a few months, or weeks for some, they have put their own stamp there, albeit temporarily. For most, it's the first time they've ever called something their own since their moms usually helped them with their rooms.

When it comes to dorm rooms, there are few restrictions apart from the few pieces of furniture we give them. In our school, they receive a bunk bed, which cannot be unbunked, a pair of desks, a pair of chairs, a dresser, and, in my dorm, they're lucky enough to get giant closets. The amount of furniture and the lack of space is somewhat restrictive when it comes to design, but I've been extremely impressed by how creative some of the girls have been. You can truly tell their personalities. Unfortunately I can't take pictures of their dorms and show them on here because (a) that would be creepy and (b) I'd have to tell them about the blog.

One of my favorites so far was during my first year. The girls in the room could not be any more different and you could tell the moment you walked into their room. While they were both neat enough and the girls got along for the most part, the writings on the wall showed how very different they were. They were the only ones that had unbunked beds. One side had a Hollywood sign above her bed and 'I'm a princess' sign all over her side. There were pictures of her boyfriend, some other boys, and her friends. There may have even been a tiara. On the other side of the room were pictures of Jesus, Our Lady, and the saints. There was a very obvious dividing line between the room. I loved it. They kept their stuff on their side but didn't restrict the other from being themselves. I appreciated that.

Another favorite that sticks out in my mind were roommates who contacted each other during the summer and planned out their room. They had matching bedspreads and matching everything. Their room was very cute, very girly, and very them. I loved that they communicated well enough in advanced and agreed to having the same stuff. It obviously wouldn't work for everyone, but I loved that they did that.

My dorm room in college was ever-changing. I never liked to keep it the same and I had roommates who tolerated it, even though it drove them crazy. Within the next few weeks, I'm going to come up with dorm mood boards should anyone ever asks for my opinion. Not really, I just like doing it for fun.

Source for mood board above. These aren't what we give our kiddos, but it's the easiest way to make a mood board. Dorm room essentials by trendmaven74 on polyvore.com